Tag Archives: kohlrabi

Spring planting with vertical gardening in mind

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In years past I’ve planted my spring garden and put things wherever I wanted. When it became time to put in my summer vertical crops I often had to either wait for the existing squares to finish, which meant putting my tomatoes in a little late, or pull the plants which were in the square which hadn’t finished yet. For many years I’ve learned to put in the earliest crops where my vertical summer crops will grow.

What do you grow right now so your squares will be ready for summer vertical crops? All the cool weather crops: lettuce, spinach, chard, endive, kohlrabi, arugula, bok choi, mizuna, kale, even radicchio. etc. Radishes can go in later because they only take about 30 days. I know there will be 7 weeks until the summer crops go in, so this leaves me with time to grow all the things that love spring. Mel always taught to think one season ahead[ois skin=”1″]

Step 4: Start planting!

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spacing shot-9 per squarespacing shot-16 per squareIt’s that easy! This is all you need to have a great garden. Now all that’s left is the spacing. In the SFG system, this is simple too. As a general rule things will be planted in 1, 4, 9, or 16 items per square. You’ll know by what the seed packet lists as the “thin to” spacing. As an example, broccoli will say “thin to 12.” This means there will be one broccoli plant per square. If you’re using transplants it’s easy-just drop it in the middle of your square. If you’re using seeds, you only need to add 2 or 3 seeds into each hole. That’s it! If all 3 of those seeds grow you can either cut them back with a scissors(a tough thing to do)or you can gently come under the early starts with a pencil and carefully lift them out. You now have another broccoli plant that’s germinated and can become a full plant. If the packet says “thin to 6 inches” you will plant 4 items per square. “Thin to 4 inches” will mean you’ll plant 9 items per square, and the last one-“thin to 3 inches” means you’ll be planting 16 items per square. The following is a short list of the spacing used in the SFG system. One per square: broccoli, cauliflower, eggplant, tomatoes, kale, brussel sprouts, basil, rosemary, and cabbage. Four per square: all lettuce, chard, pok choi, radicchio, arugula, marigolds, nasturtium, and cilantro. Nine per square: beets, leeks, chives, spinach, garlic, onions, mizuna, tatsoi, kohlrabi, and bush beans. Sixteen per square: radishes, turnips, parsnips, carrots, mache, and scallions. Keep your soil moist-especially at the beginning and you’ll be rewarded with a garden that you never knew could be so much fun and so little work.[ois skin=”below post”]

In 148 square feet?

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TWE-getting it ready for winter3We’ve had 3 or 4 significant frosts already.  I’m getting ready to cover this structure with greenhouse plastic.  I’ll only then be using a weighted floating row cover to put over the crops.  As we head into winter, this is what’s growing in just 148 square feet of garden space: 20 pounds of potatoes, 108 heads of lettuce, 8 arugula plants, 320 carrots, 117 spinach plants, 36 mizuna plants, 45 claytonia plants, 4 minutina, 24 komatsuna, 27 mache, 80 radishes, 36 beets, 48 turnips, 44 Swissl chard, 9 onions, 36 chives, 16 radicchio, 63 leeks, 2 kale plants, 20 poc choi, 2 parsley plants, 1 rosemary plant, 45 tatsoi, 36 kohlrabi, and 4 plants of cilantro.  We’re ready.

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April 14th square foot garden

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sfg 041413It’s hard to believe that this was all planted in the coldest part of the year. In just a few short weeks this will all be emptied out and an entirely brand new set of crops will take their place. I’ve really enjoyed-and so has our family-eating some different tasting(and sounding)greens that I’ve never grown before. This upcoming fall, I’ll be able to share specific information about 15 different cold weather crops that I’ve had experience with. Many of these are items that many might not have tasted much less grown, but are easy to plant. Done right, you should be able to harvest right through the winter in zones 3-6 with just a little extra effort. I don’t mind doing the extra work because the quality and taste of the food is so superior compared to store bought during these months. I’ll be able to share how each of these crops fit into the 1, 4, 9, and 16 spacings. This square foot gardening stuff-it sure is a lot of fun-and a whole lot less work.[ois skin=”below post”]

Over and under

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over 020213under 020213It was about 38-40 today. With my plastic over the boxes today it was probably mid-60’s to 70 degrees under the cover. This picture is a different SFG box then the previous post shows. In this one, you can see a few things up and growing: win-win bok choy, winter density lettuce, beets, 2 star lettuce, kohlrabi, etc. There’s a few open squares but that will probably change in the next week. It’s about time for me to place an ad in the local newspaper to see if anyone is interested in buying what this box will be producing. Last time I counted I’ve got about 14 different items that will come out of this particular SFG box. This list includes lettuce(4 varieties), greenhouse tomatoes, spinach, kale, bok choy, mizuna, tatsoi, arugula, mache, kohlrabi, radishes, carrots, beets(and greens), and cilantro. While at Sprouts the other day, I noticed the price for a head of loose-leaf organic red lettuce-$1.99. It was really small. I also saw the price of an organic kohlrabi-$2.99 each! Holy smoke. When folks buy from me they get at least 4 heads of lettuce that are bigger and better tasting than what you buy at any store-easily worth $2.50 each. They get a small container of tomatoes, and a combination of at least 5 other things from the list mentioned above. I deliver and it only costs them $20 a week. I think that’s a great deal-what do you think? Some of these Asian greens-man, are they good. Especially for stir-fries.[ois skin=”below post”]